Ever out and about and need somewhere to tidily store a wet swimsuit, sweaty gym clothes or maybe even dirty diapers? With this wet bag tutorial, it’s all literally in the bag and solved with this handy waterproof storage solution! Made from Spoonflower’s Recycled Canvas and Polyurethane Laminate (also known as PUL), this cute lil’ pouch will help you securely stow away even your grimiest items until they can safely hit the wash. Follow along with Bonnie from Peppermint Magazine to learn how to sew your own handy wet bag.
Bonnie: Birds fly south for the winter and many humans too choose to weather the winter in warmer climes! Down here in Australia, we’re gearing up for a long, hot summer and without sounding too stereotypical, here at Peppermint magazine, we’re looking forward to some sun, sand and surf. However, cavorting tropical climates can lead to all sorts of sticky situations and you may be looking for a way to store your wet togs—or swimsuits, as you call them—that’s a little more elegant (and sustainable!) than a spare plastic bag scrounged up from the boot—er, trunk—of your car.
A wet bag is a zippered pouch with a waterproof inner lining that is useful for transporting all sorts of things—wet swimwear, reusable period products and diapers. Basically, anything wet and/or sticky that you want to keep separate from your clean and dry things. If you skip the inner lining, this design doubles as a simple and sweet canvas zipper pouch! With a neat French-seamed finish, the design includes clever folds that allow for optimized storage capacity and cuteness!
Skill level: Intermediate
Materials
Have questions about recommended needles and thread for Spoonflower fabrics?
- Sewing machine
- 1 yard (40”) of Recycled Canvas (we used Girls Surfers Pink Small Scale by tasiania)
- 1/2 yard (20”) of lining material (see note below)
- 10” (25 cm) zipper
- Measuring tape
- Fabric marker or pen
- Fabric scissors or rotary blade
- Fabric clips or pins (fabric clips recommended)
- Polyester sewing thread (Sew-all Thread rPET works too! Learn more about recommended needles and threads for Spoonflower fabrics at this link.)
What is Polyurethane Laminate?
1. Cut Out Your Pieces
Cut two rectangles measuring 12”x 27” (69 cm x 30 cm)—one in your canvas fabric and one in your lining fabric. Next, cut one rectangle measuring 7” x 2” (6 cm x 18 cm) and two rectangles measuring 1.5” x 3” (4 cm x 7.5 cm) from your canvas fabric.
2. Attach Zipper Ends
The two tiny fabric rectangles at either end of the zipper are zipper ends. We are going to attach them to each end of the zipper to give us extra room to work with when we French seam the bag closed later.
Take your zipper and trim down the ends by 1/4” (0.6 cm). Then fold one fabric rectangle in half, right sides together, around the end of the zipper. Stitch along the folded edge.
Fold the fabric back so the loose ends meet, wrong sides together, and topstitch along the new folded edge.
Repeat for the other end of the zipper.
3. Make the Handle
Take your 7” x 2” rectangle and fold in half lengthways, wrong sides together. Press.
Unfold and then fold in the long edges to meet this center crease. Press.
Fold in half again and press.
Topstitch down along both edges.
Set the handle aside.
4. Attach Zipper to Fabric
Lay your large (12” x 27”) canvas rectangle right side facing up. Place your zipper atop it right side facing down, aligning edges. Place your lining material atop this, right side facing down, making a sandwich with the zipper in the middle.
Pro tip:
Using wonder clips to hold the fabric together and a zipper foot, stitch it all together. Turn and fold materials so that the canvas and lining are wrong sides together and then topstitch down along the zipper.
Align the other edges of your canvas and lining and zipper tape. Your canvas will end up folded one way and your lining folded the other to create the same right-sides sandwich configuration. Sew together along the zipper edge.
Open the zipper and manipulate the fabric so that the canvas and lining are sitting together, wrong sides facing. Topstitch along the zipper edge.
5. Create Fold
Place your bag flat with the zipper positioned in the middle of the fabric (the zipper should sit roughly 6” (16 cm) in from the edges).
Fold one outer edge in towards the inside so it’s sandwiched between the layers, creating a Σ shape with a depth of 1.5” (4 cm).
Affix in place with clips or pins and repeat on the other side.
6. Finishing Steps
On the top edge of the bag (where the zipper sits when closed), pin or clip your handle in place, centered with each end 1.5” (3.8 cm) away from the zipper.
We are going to finish the bag with a neat French seam so with the bag right side out, stitch along the open top and bottom with a 1/4” (0.6 cm) seam allowance. Then flip the bag inside out and sew along these edges again with a 1/2” (1.2 cm) seam, encasing the raw edges on the other side.
Flip your bag right way out again and voilà! You’re ready to hit the beach, or simply head out and about with an easy mind knowing anything you encounter can be safely stored in this handy dandy pouch!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Betsy! This is the cutest bag in the world! It turned out so beautiful. My best friend lost her husband a few years ago…..they traveled quite a bit and their “flower’ was Bird of Paradise. I found the fabric from Spoonflower……Thanks for this tutorial! Mary
Hi Mary!
How wonderful, thanks ever so much for letting me know it all worked out! 🙂
So glad you were happy with the end result (the Peppermint team always does such a great job!) and that sounds like such a thoughtful gift! Well done you!
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower
I’m getting ready to start this project. Quick question – on step 3, when creating the Z shape fold, is that for one side only? Or is is suppose to be for the 2 bottom corners?
Hi Mary!
This is a great project and so handy to have around when you need to deal with wet (or wet adjacent!) things!
For step 3, it’s referring to the handle and you’ll need one of those.
It sounds like you might be talking about step 5. In the section of text right above step 6, it notes to “Affix in place with clips or pins and repeat on the other side,” so yes, it’s for both sides.
If I’ve misunderstood your question, please let me know!
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower
what type of thread needs to be used?
Hi Kaitlynn!
Thanks for your question, I’ve since updated the post. 🙂
For this project, Bonnie used 100% polyester thread, but also recommends Sew-all Thread rPET for those looking for a more sustainable option!
Best,
Betsy
Spoonflower